One of the Bond titles made it to the top 10 best spy books of all time listed by Publishers Weekly (Image: Getty)
Espionage fiction continues to captivate readers with the genre’s thrilling blend of secrets, betrayals, and missions. In 2023, Publishers Weekly got literary journalist-turned-novelist Patrick Worrall – author of The Partisan – to assemble a definitive list of the 10 greatest spy novels of all time.
His top picks span more than a century – from a 1901 classic that inspired real-life double agents to gritty Cold War narratives and high-style adventures. Here are the spy novels that every fan of the genre “should read before they die”, according to experts.
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10. The Untouchable by John Banville (1997)
Booker Prize winner John Banville’s The Untouchable is a story of treachery set against the backdrop of the British class system. Loosely inspired by Anthony Blunt, a member of the notorious Cambridge spy ring and Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, the novel follows Victor Maskell – a closeted art historian and Soviet agent whose double life gradually gets exposed.
“The suggestion is that Blunt and fellow traitor Guy Burgess made natural double agents because they grew up in a world where homosexuality meant a life of code words, secret networks, and furtive meetings”, comments the article.
9. The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette (1981)
A cult favourite in France, Jean-Patrick Manchette’s classic The Prone Gunman follows Martin Terrier, a corporate assassin ready to retire and reunite with his childhood sweetheart – only to find himself pulled back into a deadly game.
Worrall notes that Manchette’s work is rooted in post-war French politics and Dashiell Hammett’s noir style: “All his books involve the merciless lampooning of the bourgeoisie. Most descend into something approaching madness by the end.”
Manchette’s stripped-down prose and brutal realism influenced a generation of European crime writers. Though his books are lesser-known in English, their legacy is undeniable.
8. Smiley’s People by John le Carré (1979)
While John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy often gets mentioned in most spy fiction recommendation lists, this one chooses Smiley’s People for its sophistication and sense of closure.
In this novel, George Smiley is pulled out of retirement to investigate a murder that may offer him a final chance at redemption – and revenge against his KGB rival, Karla: “It’s this redemptive note that marks out Smiley’s People, as well as its unusually detailed focus on the brutality of the Soviet system.”
The book is also eerily predictive, with a plot involving poisonings and political assassinations similar to real-world events that happened decades later.
7. The Human Factor by Graham Greene (1978)
Graham Greene’s The Human Factor focuses on Maurice Castle, a mid-level British intelligence officer whose quiet life begins to unravel when personal loyalties clash with professional duties. Unlike many espionage protagonists, Castle is not a field agent or master manipulator – he is an ageing bureaucrat drawn into betrayal through personal conviction.
Greene had worked for MI6 and based the novel on his own experiences in the intelligence world. The narrative examines institutional mistrust, race, and colonial politics – especially through Castle’s relationship with his South African wife.
“This is supposedly the book into which Greene poured most of his real-life experience of the spy game—the ghost of ‘Kim’ Philby… hangs over the ending.”
Frederick Forsyth on the premiere of the film based on his book, The Day of The Jackal (Image: Getty)
6. The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (1971)
Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal blends fiction with historical fact, telling the story of a professional British assassin hired by a French far-right group to kill President Charles de Gaulle. The novel’s procedural structure follows both the assassin’s meticulous preparations and the police manhunt aimed at stopping him.
Forsyth’s background as a journalist informed the book’s level of detail, which includes forgeries, false identities, and methods of surveillance: “The tradecraft is also a big part of the appeal… the famous ‘Jackal Fraud’ technique for creating a false identity… is still used by some intelligence professionals.”
Published in the early 1970s, the novel became a benchmark for realistic spy thrillers, influencing later writers in both the espionage and crime genres.
5. Modesty Blaise by Peter O’Donnell (1965)
Modesty Blaise introduces a former criminal mastermind who is recruited by British intelligence. The novel was based on a popular comic strip character created by Peter O’Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway. In this first novel, Modesty works alongside her loyal partner Willie Garvin to take on international threats through a mix of martial arts, strategy, and improvisation.
The character’s background – a child refugee turned gang leader – adds complexity to her evolution into a government asset. “Yes, it’s nonsense… but she is an enduring action heroine, lovingly rendered by O’Donnell.”
4. The IPCRESS File by Len Deighton (1962)
Len Deighton’s The IPCRESS File centres on an unnamed British intelligence officer investigating brainwashing and nuclear weapons. Unlike Bond, this spy is sardonic, working-class, and cynical. The book mixes Cold War tension with satire, showing scepticism toward military and political institutions.
Deighton’s narrative voice and fractured timeline helped reshape the structure of spy fiction in the 1960s. The book also stood out for its marketing: the original edition featured a distinctive cover design by Ray Hawkey that gave the genre a new visual identity: “Style wins out over story here… Precise and funny and brutal by turns, but always seething with energy.”
The book marked the start of a long-running series and was adapted into a film starring Michael Caine.
Michael Caine in The IPCRESS File (Image: Getty)
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (Image: Getty)
3. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (1953)
Casino Royale was the first novel to feature James Bond. It sees 007 assigned to bankrupt the villain Le Chiffre at a French casino, with events taking a dark turn following Bond’s capture and torture. The novel introduces many of the series’ staples – its luxury, danger, and Bond’s internal conflicts.
Fleming, who served in British naval intelligence during World War II, wrote the book shortly after the war ended. Its Cold War backdrop and decadent setting captured a fantasy that resonated with post-rationing Britain: “[It’s] very silly, as soon as you stop to think about it, but utterly irresistible.”
2. Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler (1938)
In Epitaph for a Spy, a Hungarian language teacher is wrongly accused of espionage while staying at a hotel on the French Riviera. Forced to find the real spy to clear his name, he is pulled into a web of Gestapo surveillance and political intrigue.
“Essentially a whodunnit, a Poirot-esque mystery set in a small hotel on the French Riviera with a Gestapo agent rather than a killer to be unmasked.”
Ambler’s influence can be seen in the work of John le Carré, Graham Greene, and later espionage writers who adopted his more grounded approach to spy tales.
1. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901)
Kim follows Kimball O’Hara, an Anglo-Irish orphan in colonial India who becomes involved in the British Secret Service. Set during the height of the “Great Game” between Britain and Russia, the novel combines coming-of-age elements with espionage training and undercover missions.
Often read as an adventure story or cultural portrait of India, Kim also functions as a foundational spy novel, incorporating codes, disguises, and intelligence gathering: “It’s also an espionage thriller… exploring how young Kimball O’Hara is forged into the perfect undercover agent.”
Kipling’s prose, use of Indian dialects, and attention to cultural nuance contributed to the book’s critical reputation, though its imperialist themes remain debated. The real-life Cambridge spy Harold “Kim” Philby was nicknamed after the novel’s hero, underscoring the book’s lasting influence in both fiction and history.
